Well last chapter was a bunch of milestones. Really two actually. I broke 100 followers, which although might not seem like a lot to some of you, is huge to me! It's really awesome to know that 100 people are interested enough to come back and read it again. Also, last chapter I published my 100,000th word! Crazy huh, finally reached it? Imagine what it'll be like if I hit 1 million words?
Also, ignore the fact that logically, Sting and Rogue should be seven years younger than everyone else. I know lots of people put them in stories and forget to point that out, but it's true. Sting and Rogue should be even younger than Wendy.
I'm sorry to report, but this may be the third or second to last chapter. Don't fret though, I have another coming out very soon!
Thanks to Rose Tiger, Ice and Thunder, and the two guests for reviewing.
I wasn't exactly sure if Natsu's plan was a good one. He had a simple strategy, which I didn't really understand, but he was confident. He certainly placed a lot of trust in his gang members to destroy the other guys. I knew those kids were strong, they were, after all, stars on respective sports teams. Gray was the captain of the ice hockey team, Gajeel was the captain of football, Sting and Rogue were the best players on their basketball team, Jellal was the captain of baseball, and Loke, well, Loke was just strong. Like Loke, Natsu was really strong, stronger than the rest.
But if Natsu didn't trust himself to be able to take down the guy inside, he must have been pretty strong. I mean, Natsu is stronger than every single one of the best athletes from our school, so the guy inside must have been extremely powerful. If so, why was he the head of the company? I didn't get anything about this really, but I didn't really need to. I was just hoping that Natsu would be safe throughout all of this.
When I say the plan was simple, it was beyond simple. It was a two part plan that I happened to not be involved in. I felt guilty, after all, these guys are fighting for my parents' company. The first part was the scary part. Natsu was going to kill enough time for the guys outside to take down the Oración Seis Gang. He was going to create a distraction, which I assume would be violent, and keep any business related transactions from occurring. The second part involved the gang coming inside and backing up Natsu. If the whole gang was there, there was no way they could lose. But that's the only problem, what if the whole gang doesn't make it?
I'm really nervous about it. Natsu's gang sure is tough, but those Oración Seis members didn't look like they were joking around. They looked like they could challenge the Dragon's Roar Gang pretty well, and I'm sure they could. Whether or not they could win, was only for time to tell. Until then, I'd be sitting in here, waiting for an answer.
Natsu signaled for me to follow. I was a little confused about what he wanted, because he did just say I wasn't involved. When I got up close to him, he whispered into my ear.
"Lucy, come on, I need you to come get your parents out of this room. I'm more than confident that this place won't be left unscathed." He said.
I nodded, and asked, "Where should I take them?"
"Anywhere but here. Just make sure they're not in the way of me fighting." He said.
"Alright then Natsu. Please stay safe. I know you want me to be happy, but I won't be if you're all beaten up and injured. So please, don't get too hurt." I said.
"I won't let you down Lucy." Natsu answered, before he turned towards the door. He held up three fingers and counted down.
3... He breathed in heavily.
2... He exhaled and sighed.
1... He put on an angry face and began to raise his leg.
Natsu kicked down the door, and charged into the room. My parents, who were extremely surprised by the loud noise didn't have time to react when Natsu suddenly charged at the man I didn't recognized.
"Zero! You may have been the reason my father left me, but I will not allow you to be the reason that this family suffers!" Natsu screamed. He was running really fast. He charged right at Zero. Right before he made contact, he slightly jumped and balled his fist, pulling it back quickly and sending it forward into Zero's face. Zero stumbled back a bit but groaned in anger. He looked back up to Natsu, who was in battle stance, ready to fight. He grinned cockily and began to taunt Natsu.
"Boy, can't you see you're interfering with my business meeting?" Zero said.
"Yeah, well your little kiddies interrupted my ride home outside, so I feel this is a just punishment." Natsu said, causing Zero to look a little shocked before regaining his cocky smile.
"You know they weren't after you in the first place. I don't see why you should concern yourself with them." Zero said.
"They were after my girlfriend though. And the only thing worse than attacking me is attacking someone that I'm close to." Natsu said angrily.
"Is that so? But tell me, where did you come up with this marvelous idea? My "kiddies" happen to be extremely strong." Zero said.
"Oh and I'm aware. I know much about the Oración Seis Gang. Trust me, there's a whole lot more going outside than you think." Natsu said.
"And what's that?" Zero asked.
"Can't you hear it? The sound of a Dragon Roaring? The one and only gang who whooped your son's gang's ass two years ago? Certainly you haven't forgotten." Natsu said smirking. Zero went from looking cocky to angry.
"I know who you are, Natsu Dragneel. You're the one who stopped us two years ago. This would have been a successful operation back then if you didn't cheat us out of it!" Zero said angrily.
"I'm more than aware you targeted me when I was younger, so I know what kind of show you're running at your company. You blackmail your clients with threats of loved ones. The only reason why you get away with it is because you have close relations to high up government officials!" Natsu said angrily.
"You know nothing!" Zero shouted.
"I know enough to know that you're an asshole and probably responsible for my father leaving!" Natsu screamed.
"Says you. I'm going to politely ask you to leave." Zero said.
"There's no reason for him to leave!" My father said angrily.
"He's interrupting our business meeting." Zero said.
"This meeting is over! You just came over here to threaten my family if I didn't give you what you wanted!" My dad said angrily.
"And I plan on getting what I wanted in the first place." Zero said.
"You're not going to get anything from me or my family!" My dad shouted.
Zero started walking towards my father, and I was a little nervous what was about to happen. Weren't these meetings supposed to be cool and collected? This one obviously wasn't. I saw Zero approaching my father. I tensed up a little. Right he approached my dad, I felt Natsu slip something into my pocket. It was pretty light and small, and when my hand went over it, I could feel the screen of a phone. I pulled the phone out and saw the video recorder on. I sat down in my dad's chair, because he had just stood up to tell Zero to leave.
"You listen, and listen well, Jude Heartfilia, I will not stop until I get what I want. I can send a hitman whenever I need to dispatch you or one of your precious family members. Understand that I mean business, and I will not stop until I get what I want." Zero said angrily.
Before my father could react, I saw Natsu punch Zero straight across the face.
"Like hell I'd let you do something like that to them!" He said angrily. "You can't just go threatening lives because you want money or business. There are several people in this world who started up a business legitimately, and they're truly happy. But you, you've cheated your whole life to get your way to the top! And while the others may have been docile, you can count on us not to be!"
Zero looked angrily at Natsu and went to attack him back. I didn't think Zero would do something like that because he's much older, but since his son's gang is preoccupied, he probably doesn't have any other choice.
"You should know that nobody easily submitted to me. I had to threaten each and everyone of them. Their children were captured by my son's gang and held until the parents agreed. Until you came in two years and stopped our plans at this exact house. My company would have been much larger had you not interfered. And I wouldn't have been having this problem." Zero said to Natsu, approaching slowly.
Zero punched Natsu on his left shoulder. Natsu took a few steps back to absorb the punch and made an enraged face. He recovered quickly and went to punch Zero in the face, but Zero intercepted his punch and struck Natsu across the face. Again, Natsu stumbled back a bit, after taking two strong attacks. He still looked determined as ever, and he charged back towards Zero.
He kicked Zero in the shin, and punched Zero with his right arm. Natsu attempted to punch Zero in the stomach, but wasn't able to before Zero punched Natsu's extended arm down. Natsu used his other arm and swung up to hit Zero across the face. He smiled a little at the sight of Zero stumbling back in pain, but was immediately back to an angry glare once Zero advanced forward.
Zero was moving very fast now, and he punched Natsu right in his chest. The force caused Natsu to hit the ground because the impact was so great. Zero lifted his foot quickly to step down on Natsu's stomach, but Natsu reacted quickly and rolled over towards his right. He stopped rolling and tried to get up. He put his hands on the ground to push himself upwards, but Zero stomped down on his left hand. Natsu leaned back in pain, and Zero used the opportunity to kick him in the chest while Natsu was still on his knees.
Natsu was now on the ground again, and too close to Zero to roll away. Zero went to thrust his foot into Natsu's chest, and Natsu put his two hands on the bottom of Zero's boot to stop the impact. Zero smirked at this and began to increase the pressure he was putting down on his foot. Natsu's resistance was slowly weakening and it looked as if he was totally lost.
I looked down at Natsu, and strangely saw that smirk he had given me before. I recognized that he had a plan. And I was right. Natsu began to push Zero's boot slightly to the right. Zero didn't prepare for this change in force and his foot ended up going to the right. Since his foot was no longer over Natsu's, Natsu was able to remove one hand from the boot. He quickly reached over to the knife on the ground nearby, which he must have dropped on the ground on his way in, and ran it along Zero's leg that was on the ground. The sudden pain caused Zero to fall over, and Natsu was given a chance to get up.
As Zero stood up, Natsu quickly approached him from behind. He put the knife in front of Zero's neck and said, "Game over Zero. One slip and you're dead. I suggest you don't attempt anything."
Zero, ignoring the warning, leaned his head forward a little and then slammed it back against Natsu's. Natsu fell backward a bit, and he looked as if he lost his awareness. The knife in Natsu's hand fell down and Zero had picked it up.
"You know, I've never actually killed one of the people I threatened. Why not make you the first?" Zero said cockily.
He approached Natsu and went to jab him in the side of the torso, but luckily Natsu had since moved. Natsu moved some more, dodging the stab attempts from Zero.
"All of these years, all of these families that I brutalized, yet not a single one was as resistant as this one. You saved them for some reason two years ago, and again you're back to try to stop me. You've ruined my progress for two years, and I'll be damned if you dare do it again!" Zero said angrily.
"All I did was try to protect the people I care about. And if that means fighting you, I'm willing to do so." Natsu said.
"Then you will die doing so. Can you clearly see who has the knife?" Zero said enraged.
Zero lunged again, aiming to hit Natsu right in the chest. Natsu leaned back, and Zero kicked his right ankle, causing Natsu to fall over. Natsu scrambled backwards, trying to avoid the oncoming knife that was about to attack him. Once it attacked where Natsu's arm was, and Natsu had to move it away to prevent it from being stabbed. He fell down on his back, and lay there helpless.
"You understand now why people have never dared mess with me? Because they know they won't come out alive. A pity that you didn't know that." Zero laughed angrily.
"You know what's interesting about the neck?" Zero said, pointing the knife towards Natsu's neck. The proximity of his neck and the knife scared me to the point where I couldn't move. I had to do something, Natsu was going to die! But he's in the opposite corner of the room as me, and there's no way I could get there in time! We need some sort of distraction.
"There's a painless way to kill someone at their neck, and an extremely painful one. Do you want to guess which one I'm going to use on you?" Zero said, laughing at his own cruelty. "I have a great idea. Why don't you watch your girlfriend cry as you die. Wouldn't that be fun? You died trying to protect her family, but it was all in vain!" He turned his head and faced me, and said, "Hey Blondie, get over here!"
I was scared to walk forward or stay where I was. He'd certainly kill Natsu sooner if I didn't walk forward, but if I did, he could probably attack me. I wasn't exactly sure what to do, so I ended up slowly walking towards him. I didn't make it a step when I saw Zero fall to the side and a male voice that I really hated call out. I hadn't heard it in a while, and even though I hated the owner, the voice provided some relief.
"You call for me?" Sting said. He had just punched Zero down onto the ground and the rest of Natsu's gang came and held Zero down. Natsu got up, feeling some pain but overall pretty good.
"Thanks guys. Wouldn't have made it outta that one if it weren't for you." He said.
"S'alright Natsu. Consider us even for last time." Sting said.
I sighed a breath of relief as the rest of Natsu's gang came in and held down Zero. He looked so powerless against those six guys, but it made sense because the strongest gang wasn't made up of weaklings. They literally beat the life out of the guy until he was unconscious. Natsu, meanwhile, had gotten up and walked over to me. He looked in pain and I hoped nothing was broken.
"Sorry you had to see that Lucy." Natsu said.
I quickly hugged him, and felt guilty because it was probably hurting him. "Natsu please don't ever do that again, I was afraid you were going to die. Natsu don't ever do that again. Never, ever please Natsu don't." I whispered into his chest, mumbling incoherent words. I held him close and felt one of his hands run through my hair.
"Shhh, Lucy. It's okay, your home is safe now. You're safe, I'm safe, your parents are safe, and I'm sure that nobody else will bother us again. And I won't ever go through that again, because it's all okay." He whispered back.
"Natsu." I whispered into his chest, clinging to him tightly. I stayed there for a while. I rested in his hold around me, and he didn't move either.
My parents called the police and had Midnight's Gang taken away, along with Zero. The video I took of Zero had provided as some concrete evidence to have Zero arrested. They told us that they had been waiting years for a reportable case to come up because they knew what happened to Igneel, the last person from this town who was attacked by Zero's company. Either way, they were more than happy to finally have some evidence to convict Zero, and thankfully, did not try to arrest on anyone from Dragon's Roar. Of course, they had no idea it was Dragon's Roar. To them, it was a bunch of teenagers who helped out.
The Oración Seis Gang was released without much punishment. I would have been upset but they did actually end up apologizing to my parents and swore never to come near us again. I didn't worry too much about them, because they looked to be telling the truth.
After the long afternoon at the police station, my parents drove Natsu and me home. I asked if Natsu could spend the night, and he said he would if it was okay with my parents. Before I voiced the question, they said yes. Natsu and I looked at each other and smiled. Natsu asked if we could pick up his sister Wendy because he doesn't want to leave her at home overnight. Without any signs of annoyance, my parents picked up Wendy and we went home.
I remember how I used to complain about having so many rooms, but now, I like the space. It's really convenient to have space for extra rooms for this occasion. I was tired today, and my parents had told me they would hire people to fix anything wrong with my father's study. I nodded and headed towards my room. My parents were going to keep me home from school tomorrow, which was kind of annoying because I wouldn't get to see Natsu at lunch.
Natsu and Wendy were both given a room, but Natsu snuck into mine almost immediately. I would be lying if I said that I was annoyed that he came in so quickly. I really wanted him here, next to me so that I could hold him close.
I laid down in bed, and a few minutes later, I heard Natsu do the same. He turned off the light in the room and whispered a good night.
"Natsu, thanks for everything." I whispered.
"Huh, what'd I do?" He asked confused. I giggled a little, before answering him.
"You saved my family and my father's lifelong endeavor. He's been running this business since he was 21. And I would have been captured if it weren't for you." I said sweetly.
"It was nothing, Lucy. I just protected you like a boyfriend should." He whispered back.
"Yeah, from perverts. Not from entire gangs and corrupt business leaders." I whispered to him.
"Lucy, I love you more than I can describe. You don't need to thank me, because you do, every time I wake up and know that you care about me. That you feel the same. That you want me to be yours. That's all the thanks I need to do what I do for you." He said to me.
"Natsu I wasn't lying, when I said I'd always be there for you." I whispered.
"And I wasn't lying either. And so I will be, forever. You can always count on me." He said, smiling brightly at me.
"Always..." I whispered, while embracing him in my arms. He did the same, and we fell asleep that way.
